Man extorted drug counsellor over sexting, Oshawa court hears

Kitchener man gets 90 days in jail

OSHAWA -- A drug counsellor may have been wrong to proposition a client for sex, but there's nothing "honourable" about demanding cash to keep quiet about it, an Oshawa judge said Friday.

"The honourable thing would have been to go to the police with what you knew," Ontario Court Justice Susan MacLean said in admonishing David Cabot.

Mr. Cabot, 28, of Kitchener, was sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to a single count of extortion.

Prosecutor Brenda Green said the extortion attempts began in June of this year when Mr. Cabot came into possession of text message exchanges between drug counsellor Stephan Ball and a former client. The texts indicate Mr. Ball had promised the young man cash and drugs in exchange for explicit photos and sex acts, Ms. Green told the court.

"Mr. Ball is a convicted sex offender but nonetheless was working as a drug counsellor," Ms. Green said.

In the midst of these exchanges, Mr. Ball got a text from someone he didn't know, Ms. Green said.

"This person told Mr. Ball he wanted $3,000 or the texts would be made public," she said.

During a subsequent meeting Mr. Ball handed over $600 and was given a cellphone, Ms. Green said. But the phone contained none of the texts and he soon got another call, demanding another $2,400.

At that point he contacted police, who were watching when a second meeting occurred. That's when Mr. Cabot was arrested.

The incident resulted in a "spin-off" investigation of Mr. Ball's activities, court heard. Ms. Green did not indicate any charges relating to the incident had been laid against Mr. Ball.

The prosecutor said that while Mr. Cabot may originally have targeted Mr. Ball for ethical lapses, he wrongly used his advantage for monetary gain.

"His actions were immoral and unconscionable," Ms. Green said. "But that doesn't make Mr. Cabot a hero either. His behaviour wasn't laudable in any way. It was criminal."

Justice MacLean agreed.

"What Mr. Ball did is reprehensible. There's no debate about that," she said.

"But you took advantage of this in a way that's completely criminal and wrong."

Mr. Cabot was given credit for five days of pretrial custody. He'll serve his sentence on weekends.

Jeff Mitchell is the justice reporter for Metroland Media Group in Durham Region, Ontario.